Designation of classes for certificates and keys

ABSTRACT

Plural modes of operation may be established on a mobile device. Specific modes of operation of the mobile device may be associated with specific spaces in memory. By using a “class” designation within the existing certificate store structure and key store structure, certificates and keys can be assigned to one space among plural spaces. Accordingly, a personal certificate store and a personal key store may exist in a personal space. Similarly, a corporate certificate store and a corporate key store may exist in a corporate space. APIs designed to work within such a system may be arranged to employ a “class” attribute when managing certificates and cryptographic keys.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/600,302, filed Feb. 17, 2012, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present application relates generally to management of digitalidentity certificates and cryptographic keys and, more specifically, todesignation of classes for certificates and keys.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices are used for a variety of purposes. Users may wish to usea particular mobile device for personal applications such as games,reading news distributed using really simple syndication (RSS), webbrowsing and general leisure. Corporations may want the same mobiledevice to be used for a subset of functionality required for a user tocomplete their job.

However, when a mobile device is used for both corporate and personalmatters, a corporation may choose to limit the risk of exposure of dataon the mobile device. This may be done, for example, through theimplementation of information technology (IT) policies on the mobiledevice. Such policies sometimes lead to a poor user experience, as themobile device may be locked such that no new applications may be loadedonto the mobile device. Alternatively, the mobile device may berestricted regarding which non-work-related applications may be loadedonto the device. For example, an IT policy on the mobile device may, ina effort to prevent potential spread of viruses, prohibit the user ofthe mobile device from downloading software from any location other thana specifically approved location. In this manner, the range ofapplications that the user can install may be significantly limited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanyingdrawings which show example implementations; and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a memory segregated into plural spaces;

FIG. 2 illustrates a mobile communication device with memory that may besegregated as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates example steps in a method of creating a segregatedspace in a memory as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates example steps in a method of creating a certificatestore;

FIG. 5 illustrates example steps in a method of deleting a segregatedspace in a memory as illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 illustrates example steps in a method of handling a certificatevalidation request.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Rather than restricting access to an entire mobile device that is usedfor both personal and corporate functionality, the present disclosurecontemplates the creation of dual or plural modes of operations on themobile device. In particular, each application of a plurality ofapplications may be segregated into one of a plurality of groups. In anexample scenario involving a corporate mode of operation and a personalmode of operation, applications can be designated as either corporateapplications or personal applications. In some cases, where anapplication may be both corporate and personal, a copy of theapplication code can be saved in both a personal memory space and acorporate memory space on the mobile device.

The present disclosure provides for a mobile device, but is not meant tobe limited to any particular mobile device. Examples of mobile devicesinclude smart phones, personal digital assistants, data-enabled cellulartelephones, tablet computers, among others.

The mobile device in the present disclosure implements an IT policy tocontrol corporate data. This may be done by connection to an enterpriseserver, which provides the IT policy for the device. In otherembodiments, the IT policy may be implemented on a per device basisindividually.

Notably, the segregation of applications discussed hereinbefore may havefar-reaching implications for management of security aspects of themobile device. For example, public and private cryptographic keys may besaved in memory in such a manner that the keys are associated with themobile device and not with a mode of operation of the mobile device.Similarly, digital identity certificates may be saved in memory in sucha manner that the identity certificates are associated with a user ofthe mobile device and not with a mode of operation of the mobile device.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided amethod of creating a certificate store in a memory of a device. Themethod includes receiving, at a space management module, a command tocreate a space, the space associated with a designation of a classidentifying a mode of operation of the device, designating, at the spacemanagement module, a range of addresses in a memory for the space andinitializing, at a certificate manager, a certificate store in thememory of the device, the certificate store associated with thedesignation of the class. In other aspects of the present application, amobile communication device with a processor is provided for carryingout this method and a computer readable medium is provided for adaptinga processor in a mobile communication device to carry out this method.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provideda method of deleting a certificate store in a memory of a device. Themethod including receiving, at a space management module, a command todelete a given memory space among a plurality of memory spaces, thegiven memory space associated with a designation of a class identifyinga mode of operation of the device and deleting, at a certificatemanager, a certificate store, the certificate store associated with thedesignation of the class. In other aspects of the present application, amobile communication device with a processor is provided for carryingout this method and a computer readable medium is provided for adaptinga processor in a mobile communication device to carry out this method.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a method of handling certificate validation. The methodincludes receiving a certificate validation command, the certificatevalidation command specifying a certificate and a certificate store witha designation of a class identifying a mode of operation of a device,building a certificate chain for the certificate, attempting to validatethe certificate chain to a root certification authority certificate inthe certificate store and replying to a source of the certificatevalidation command with an indication of validation status. In otheraspects of the present application, a mobile communication device with aprocessor is provided for carrying out this method and a computerreadable medium is provided for adapting a processor in a mobilecommunication device to carry out this method.

According to a still further aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided a method of creating a certificate store in a memory of adevice. The method includes receiving a command to create a certificatestore, the command indicating a designation of a class identifying amode of operation of the device and initializing a certificate store inthe memory of the device, the certificate store associated with thedesignation of the class. In other aspects of the present application, amobile communication device with a processor is provided for carryingout this method and a computer readable medium is provided for adaptinga processor in a mobile communication device to carry out this method.

Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of thefollowing description of specific implementations of the disclosure inconjunction with the accompanying figures.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which shows a block diagram of a memory110 of a mobile device. The memory 110 is configured to maintainexecutable code for various applications and data related to theoperation of the various applications, such combination of code and databeing referred to herein as an “application space”. As illustrated inthe example of FIG. 1, the memory 110 is divided into a personal space120 and a corporate space 130.

The corporate space 130 generally comprises a portion of memory on themobile device segregated for data, applications, or both. The dataand/or applications may be considered sensitive to a business,corporation, enterprise, government, non-profit organization, user ofthe device or any other entity responsible for the setting of an ITpolicy for the mobile device.

The personal space 120 generally comprises a portion of memorysegregated for “personal” applications and data, where such applicationsor data may be considered outside of, or separate from, an IT policy.

An application 122 executed from code saved within the personal space120 may access data 124 that is also saved within the personal space120. The data 124 that is saved within the personal space 120 may beconsidered to be personal data.

Similarly, an application 132 executed from code saved within thecorporate space 130 may access data 134 that is also saved within thecorporate space 130. The data 134 that is saved within the corporatespace 130 may be considered to be corporate data.

By segregating corporate applications from personal applications anddata associated with each, a corporate IT policy may be implemented onthe mobile device for the corporate data, thereby protecting the data,while still allowing for personal applications and personal data on thedevice. This provides more flexibility to a user of the mobile deviceand an arguably better user experience.

An operating system 140 enforces the segregation of the data asdescribed in more detail below.

The designation of each application loaded onto the mobile device aseither a personal application or a corporate application may be done inseveral ways. In one embodiment, a corporate IT policy can be set forthe loading of applications onto the mobile device, where certainspecified applications are designated by the IT policy to be on a listof corporate applications. Other applications, which are not the list ofcorporate applications, could be considered, by default, to be personalapplications. In other embodiments, a user, administrator, carrier orother entity can use a configuration program or a navigation entity(application launcher) to designate the various applications on thedevice as either a personal application or a corporate application.Further, signatures applied to applications could also be used formaking a distinction between personal applications and corporateapplications. Other examples of the designation of applications ascorporate and personal would be apparent to those skilled in the arthaving the benefit of the present disclosure.

In further embodiments, hybrid applications, which have both personaland corporate uses, could be duplicated between the corporate space 130and the personal space 120. In this way, if a user wants to use aparticular application for personal reasons, the user could execute theapplication code 122 that is saved in the personal space 120.Conversely, if the user wants to use the same application for corporatepurposes, the user could execute the application code 132 that is savedin the corporate space 130.

Thus, for example, one copy of the code for a document editor could besaved in the personal space 120 and another copy of the code for thedocument editor could be saved in the corporate space 130, therebyallowing the editing of both personal documents and corporate documents,while maintaining security for the corporate data 134.

In one embodiment, the corporate applications 132 may be provided withadditional security over the personal applications 122. For example,before allowing one of the corporate applications 132 to be launched,the operating system 140 may prompt the user to provide authentication,e.g., the operating system 140 may prompt the user to enter a passwordand the operating system 140 may authenticate the password. Further,inactivity timers could be implemented, such that the corporateapplications 132 may be locked after a period of inactivity, whileleaving the personal applications 122 unlocked. The operating system 140may require a user to enter a password to unlock a locked corporateapplication 132 so that the corporate data 134 related to the corporateapplication 132 may be accessed.

The designation (e.g., “personal” or “corporate”) of a given applicationmay further limit the data to which the given application has access.Thus, for example, the corporate applications 132 may execute in theirown mode in which mode any data that is written by the corporateapplications 132 may not be accessed by the personal applications 122.The limitation would be that personal applications 122 are not able toread corporate data 134, nor is a corporate application capable ofwriting to personal data 124.

Similarly, a given personal application 122 may not be able to write tothe corporate data 134. In some embodiments, the corporate applications132 may not be able to read the personal data 124. In other embodiments,the corporate applications 132 may be able to read the personal data124.

The corporate data 134 may be encrypted for security.

The corporate data 134 may also have date of deletion policies in effecton the mobile device. Thus, if a subset of the corporate data 134 is notaccessed within a certain time period, a date of deletion policy maydictate that the subset is to be erased. The date of deletion policy maybe pursuant to a corporate data reaping timeline. For example, if datais not accessed on the mobile or computing device for seven days, thedata may be deleted from the mobile device. The user would then need todownload the data again if the data was required for the mobile device.This may be implemented through tags or data tables associated with thedata.

The operating system 140 may handle the enforcement of the abovedifferentiating rules between the corporate space 130 and the personalspace 120. For example, the operating system 140 may implement dataaccess for the various applications 122 and 132, where each applicationis given a group permission, similar to UNIX group permissions. In otherembodiments, other user permission or other permission system may alsobe used. Data is further designated in files that allow access bycertain groups. Thus, the operating system 140 may allow the corporatedata 134 to be accessed only by the corporate applications 132 that havegroup permissions to access such data. Similarly, the personal data 124may be written to or read only by the personal applications 122 based onthe group permissions of the personal applications 122 with regard tothe personal data 124. The corporate applications 132, however, may nothave group permissions to write to the personal data 124 in oneembodiment, as enforced by the operating system 140.

As shown by a dashed line with an arrow tip in FIG. 1, the personal data124 may have some form of public permissions that would allow thecorporate applications 132 to read the personal data 124.

Access to the data may be maintained for other data functionalities,thereby preventing the corporate data 134 from being accessed in thepersonal mode. For example, copy or cut functionality may be managedbetween the personal mode and corporate mode. Potentially, no cutting orcopying would be allowed in the corporate mode of operation by thecorporate applications 132.

In other embodiments, cutting and copying may be allowed betweencorporate applications but may be restricted when trying to pasteoutside corporate mode. As will be appreciated, this could again bemanaged by UNIX group permission type model using the operating system140. When cutting or copying various text or images, or other data, anew data file is created which could have group permissions that wouldrestrict where the pasting of that file is allowed to occur. Thus, whenusing a personal application, if trying to paste corporate data, anerror might be returned, or the paste operation may simply not function.

In one embodiment, the corporate data 134 may be provided to a mobiledevice based on a secure connection with the corporate network. Forexample, this may be done through a virtual private network or othersecure connection to an enterprise server.

Further, in one embodiment, the memory 110 may be located on a mobiledevice. In this case, the mobile device may have a pre-establishedsecure connection with an enterprise server.

FIG. 2 illustrates a mobile communication device 200 as an example of adevice that may include the memory 110 of FIG. 1. The mobilecommunication device 200 includes a housing, an input device (e.g., akeyboard 224 having a plurality of keys) and an output device (e.g., adisplay 226), which may comprise a full graphic, or full color, LiquidCrystal Display (LCD). In some embodiments, the display 226 may comprisea touchscreen display. In such embodiments, the keyboard 224 maycomprise a virtual keyboard. Other types of output devices mayalternatively be utilized. A processing device (a microprocessor 228) isshown schematically in FIG. 2 as coupled between the keyboard 224 andthe display 226. The microprocessor 228 controls the operation of thedisplay 226, as well as the overall operation of the mobilecommunication device 200, in part, responsive to actuation of the keyson the keyboard 224 by a user.

The housing may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizes andshapes (including clamshell housing structures). In the case in whichthe keyboard 224 includes keys that are associated with at least onealphabetic character and at least one numeric character, the keyboard224 may include a mode selection key, or other hardware or software, forswitching between alphabetic entry and numeric entry.

In addition to the microprocessor 228, other parts of the mobilecommunication device 200 are shown schematically in FIG. 2. These mayinclude a communications subsystem 202, a short-range communicationssubsystem 204, the keyboard 224 and the display 226. The mobilecommunication device 200 may further include other input/output devices,such as a set of auxiliary I/O devices 206, a serial port 208, a speaker211 and a microphone 212. The mobile communication device 200 mayfurther include memory devices including a flash memory 216 and a RandomAccess Memory (RAM) 218 and various other device subsystems 220. Themobile communication device 200 may comprise a two-way radio frequency(RF) communication device having voice and data communicationcapabilities. In addition, the mobile communication device 200 may havethe capability to communicate with other computer systems via theInternet.

The memory 110 of FIG. 1 may be implemented in a combination of theflash memory 216 and the RAM 218.

Operating system software executed by the microprocessor 228 may besaved in a computer readable medium, such as the flash memory 216, butmay be saved in other types of memory devices, such as a read onlymemory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software,specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarilyloaded into a volatile store, such as the RAM 218. Communication signalsreceived by the mobile device may also be saved to the RAM 218.

The microprocessor 228, in addition to its operating system functions,enables execution of software applications on the mobile communicationdevice 200. A predetermined set of software applications that controlbasic device operations, such as a voice communications module 230A anda data communications module 230B, may be installed on the mobilecommunication device 200 during manufacture. A space management module230C and a certificate manager 230D may also be installed on the mobilecommunication device 200 during manufacture, to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure. As well, additional software modules, illustrated asan other software module 230N, which may comprise, for instance, apersonal information manager (PIM) application, may be installed duringmanufacture. The PIM application may be capable of organizing andmanaging data items, such as e-mail messages, calendar events, voicemail messages, appointments and task items. The PIM application may alsobe capable of sending and receiving data items via a wireless carriernetwork 270 represented by a radio tower. The data items managed by thePIM application may be seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updatedvia the wireless carrier network 270 with the device user'scorresponding data items saved or associated with a host computersystem.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, areperformed through the communication subsystem 202 and, possibly, throughthe short-range communications subsystem 204. The communicationsubsystem 202 includes a receiver 250, a transmitter 252 and one or moreantennas, illustrated as a receive antenna 254 and a transmit antenna256. In addition, the communication subsystem 202 also includes aprocessing module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 258, andlocal oscillators (LOs) 260. The specific design and implementation ofthe communication subsystem 202 is dependent upon the communicationnetwork in which the mobile communication device 200 is intended tooperate. For example, the communication subsystem 202 of the mobilecommunication device 200 may be designed to operate with the Mobitex™,DataTAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile datacommunication networks and also designed to operate with any of avariety of voice communication networks, such as Advanced Mobile PhoneService (AMPS), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA), Personal Communications Service (PCS), GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High Speed PacketAccess (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Other types of data andvoice networks, both separate and integrated, may also be utilized withthe mobile communication device 200.

Network access requirements vary depending upon the type ofcommunication system. Typically, an identifier is associated with eachmobile device that uniquely identifies the mobile device or subscriberto which the mobile device has been assigned. The identifier is uniquewithin a specific network or network technology. For example, inMobitex™ networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using aMobitex Access Number (MAN) associated with each device and in DataTAC™networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a LogicalLink Identifier (LLI) associated with each device. In GPRS networks,however, network access is associated with a subscriber or user of adevice. A GPRS device therefore uses a subscriber identity module,commonly referred to as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), in order tooperate on a GPRS network. Despite identifying a subscriber by SIM,mobile devices within GSM/GPRS networks are uniquely identified using anInternational Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

When required network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, the mobile communication device 200 may send and receivecommunication signals over the wireless carrier network 270. Signalsreceived from the wireless carrier network 270 by the receive antenna254 are routed to the receiver 250, which provides for signalamplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection,etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion.Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP 258to perform more complex communication functions, such as demodulationand decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to thewireless carrier network 270 are processed (e.g., modulated and encoded)by the DSP 258 and are then provided to the transmitter 252 for digitalto analog conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplificationand transmission to the wireless carrier network 270 (or networks) viathe transmit antenna 256.

In addition to processing communication signals, the DSP 258 providesfor control of the receiver 250 and the transmitter 252. For example,gains applied to communication signals in the receiver 250 and thetransmitter 252 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gaincontrol algorithms implemented in the DSP 258.

In a data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text messageor web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 202and is input to the microprocessor 228. The received signal is thenfurther processed by the microprocessor 228 for output to the display226, or alternatively to some auxiliary I/O devices 206. A device usermay also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, using the keyboard224 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 206, such as a touchpad, arocker switch, a thumb-wheel, a trackball, a touchscreen, or some othertype of input device. The composed data items may then be transmittedover the wireless carrier network 270 via the communication subsystem202.

In a voice communication mode, overall operation of the device issubstantially similar to the data communication mode, except thatreceived signals are output to the speaker 211, and signals fortransmission are generated by a microphone 212. Alternative voice oraudio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, mayalso be implemented on the mobile communication device 200. In addition,the display 226 may also be utilized in voice communication mode, forexample, to display the identity of a calling party, the duration of avoice call, or other voice call related information.

The short-range communications subsystem 204 enables communicationbetween the mobile communication device 200 and other proximate systemsor devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example,the short-range communications subsystem may include an infrared deviceand associated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communicationmodule to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems anddevices, or a near field communication module, etc.

The mobile communication device 200 may generate cryptographic keys foruse in a public key infrastructure (PKI) scheme. In a PKI scheme, adevice generates a public cryptographic key (public key) and acorresponding private cryptographic key (private key). However, suchcryptographic keys are of little use unless the public key is reliablyassociated with the identity of the mobile communication device 200, orthe identity of the user of the mobile communication device 200.

A public key certificate (or digital identity certificate) is anelectronic document, issued by a trusted party. The public keycertificate incorporates a digital signature to bind together a publickey with an identity—information such as the name of a person or anorganization, an associated address and so forth. The certificate can beused to verify that a public key belongs to an individual.

A Certificate Authority (CA) may act as the trusted party, the entitythat issues digital certificates. The digital certificate certifies theownership of a public key by the named subject of the digitalcertificate.

Upon receiving a communication and an associated signature, themicroprocessor 228 of the mobile communication device 200 may act toauthenticate the communication. The microprocessor 228 may generate ahash of the communication. The microprocessor 228 may also decrypt thesignature using a public key associated with the source of thecommunication. Upon matching the decrypted signature to the generatedhash of the communication, the microprocessor 228 may consider thecommunication to have reliably originated at the source.

When the microprocessor 228 requires the public key associated with thesource of the communication, the microprocessor 228 may review a localkey store. Upon failing to locate the public key in the local key store,the microprocessor 228 may seeks to import a digital certificateassociated with the source of the communication. The microprocessor 228may obtain the digital certificate directly from the source of thecommunication or from a trusted CA. Upon obtaining the digitalcertificate, the microprocessor 228 may save the digital certificate atthe mobile communication device 200 in a certificate store. Furthermore,the microprocessor 228 may extract the public key from the digitalcertificate and save the public key in a key store.

Historically, certificate stores and key stores have been implementedindependent of the concept of the mobile communication device 200 havingdistinct modes of operation and corresponding memory spaces.

In aspects of the present application, a “class” designation may be usedwithin the existing certificate store structure and key store structure.Accordingly, individual certificates and keys can be assigned to onespace among plural spaces. In operation, the microprocessor 228 mayconsider a class of a certificate when importing the certificate,validating the certificate and deleting the certificate. Similarly, themicroprocessor 228 may consider a class of a key when importing the keyand when deleting the key.

The space management module 230C, executed by the microprocessor 228,may be configured to handle such tasks as space creation and spaceremoval.

FIG. 3 illustrates example steps in a method of creating a space.Initially, the space management module 230C may receive (step 302) acommand to create a personal space. Responsively, the space managementmodule 230C may designate (step 304) a range of addresses in the memory110 for the personal space 120. The space management module 230C maysend (step 306) inter-process messages to the certificate manager 230Dto indicate that the personal certificate stores are to be initializedfor the personal space 120. The certificate manager 230D may theninitialize (step 308) one or more personal certificate stores, that is,ranges of memory in which to save certificates. For example, a personalcertificate store may be created for certificates related to thebrowsing, by the mobile communication device 200, of the world wide web.For another example, a personal certificate store may be created forcertificates related to use, by the mobile communication device 200, ofWiFi networks. For a further example, a personal certificate store maybe created for certificates related to use, by the mobile communicationdevice 200, of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

The same method may be repeated for the corporate space. Similarly, themethod illustrated in FIG. 3 can be used to create a personal key storeor a corporate key store.

Initially, the space management module 230C may receive (step 302) acommand to create a corporate space. Responsively, the space managementmodule 230C may designate (step 304) a range of addresses in the memory110 for the corporate space 130. The space management module 230C maysend (step 306) inter-process messages to the certificate manager 230Dto indicate that the corporate certificate stores are to be initializedfor the corporate space 120. The certificate manager 230D may theninitialize (step 308) one or more corporate certificate stores. Forexample, a corporate certificate store may be created for certificatesrelated to the browsing, by the mobile communication device 200, of theworld wide web. For another example, a corporate certificate store maybe created for certificates related to use, by the mobile communicationdevice 200, of WiFi networks. For a further example, a corporatecertificate store may be created for certificates related to use, by themobile communication device 200, of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

Hereinbefore, creation (step 308) of a certificate store associated withthe designation of a class has been presented in the context of creationof a space associated with the designation of the same class (e.g.,corporate). Notably, however, a certificate store may be createdindependent of the creation of a space and responsive to a command tocreate a certificate store.

FIG. 4 illustrates example steps in a method of creating a certificatestore. Some time subsequent to the creation of a space associated withthe designation of a class, the certificate manager 230D may receive(step 402) a command (say, in the form of an inter-process message) tocreate a certificate store. Based on the command indicating a class forthe certificate store, the certificate manager 230D may proceed tocreate (step 404) a certificate store associated with a designation ofthe class (corporate or personal).

FIG. 5 illustrates example steps in a method of deleting a space.Initially, the space management module 230C may receive (step 502) acommand to delete the corporate space 130. Responsively, the spacemanagement module 230C may send (step 504) inter-process messages to thecertificate manager 230D to indicate that the corporate certificatestores are to be deleted. The certificate manager 230D may delete (step506) the one or more corporate certificate stores. More specifically,there may exist Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) specific toeach mobile device activity that is associated with a certificate store.Recalling previous examples, there may be an API specific to webbrowsing, an API specific to WiFi use and an API specific to VPN use. Acall to one of these APIs to delete a corporate certificate store mayindicate specific attributes for each of the corporate certificatestores to be deleted. Such attributes may specify that the certificatestore has a corporate class designation, is associated with a specificowner and has specific a group ID attribute.

Similarly, responsive to receiving (step 502) a command to delete aspace of a particular class, the space management module 230C may send(step 504) inter-process messages to the certificate manager 230D toindicate that corporate key stores are to be deleted. The certificatemanager 230D may then delete one or more key stores of the same class.

The space management module 230C may also delete (step 508) thecorporate applications 132.

Notably, the deletion (step 506) of the one or more corporatecertificate stores, by the certificate manager 230D may occur withoutmessaging between the space management module 230C and the certificatemanager 230D. In such a case, the space management module 230C merelyreceives (step 502) a command to delete a space of a particular classand, responsively, deletes (step 508) the applications of the particularclass.

The certificate manager 230D, as part of the operating system 140, mayoccasionally be called upon by a given application, among theapplications 122, 132, to verify the validity of a certificate. Forexample, the certificate manager 230D may receive (step 602, see FIG. 6)a certificate validation command when the given application, executed onthe mobile communication device 200, has received a certificate from asource of a communication.

In typical operation, it is expected that the certificate manager 230Dwill build (step 604) a certificate chain for the received certificate.The received certificate is expected to indicate an issuing CA. Theissuing CA may be trusted based on a certificate issued by a further CA,and so on, ending at a so-called “root” CA certificate. Having built thechain, the certificate manager 230D attempts to validate (step 606) thechain by determining that the root CA is saved in one of the trustedcertificate stores for the given application and is explicitly trusted.Upon determining that the root CA certificate for the receivedcertificate is saved in one of the trusted certificate stores, thecertificate manager 230D may reply (step 608) to the given applicationfrom which the certificate validation command was received with anindication of a validation status. As will be familiar to those skilledin the art, the indication may include a message indicating successfulvalidation or a message indicating unsuccessful validation.

The certificate manager 230D will typically attempt to validate (step606) the chain by locating the root CA certificate in any one of thetrusted certificate stores, without regard for whether a particularcertificate store is a corporate certificate store or a personalcertificate store. This could lead to a situation where the givenapplication, running in the corporate space 130, may cause thecertificate manager 230D to successfully validate (step 606) a chainbased on a root CA certificate that is explicitly trusted in a personalcertificate store but not specifically trusted in one of the corporatecertificate stores.

The certificate validation command created by the given application mayspecify one or more certificate stores. As one solution, the certificatemanager API may be altered such that, for example, certificate manager230D may only validate (step 606) a chain based on a root CA certificatein a specific personal certificate store, thereby leading to validationof the certificate with a root CA certificate trusted in the personalspace 120. The certificate manager 230D may, for another example, onlyvalidate (step 606) a chain based on a root CA certificate in a specificcorporate certificate store, thereby leading to validation of thecertificate with a root CA certificate trusted in the corporate space130. If the certificate store is not specified, then the certificatemanager 230D may validate (step 606) a chain based on a root CAcertificate in a personal certificate store or a corporate certificatestore, thereby leading to validation of the certificate with either aroot CA certificate trusted in the personal space 120 or a root CAcertificate trusted in the corporate space 130.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the certificate validation command created bythe given application may specify multiple certificate stores. However,it is noted that all of the certificate stores will be in the samespace. In such a case, the certificate manager 230D may attempt tovalidate (step 606) a chain against root CA certificates in all of themultiple certificate stores.

Conveniently, designation of a class for certificates and keys allowsfor specific spaces to be associated with distinct certificate storesand keys stores, thereby allowing for space-aware import, validation anddeletion of certificates and keys. As described hereinbefore, validationdoes not cross space boundaries. Furthermore, on deletion of a space,associated certificates are also deleted.

The above-described implementations of the present application areintended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variationsmay be effected to the particular implementations by those skilled inthe art without departing from the scope of the application, which isdefined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of creating a certificate store in amemory of a device, the method comprising: receiving, at a spacemanagement module, a command to create a space, the space associatedwith a designation of a class identifying a mode of operation of thedevice; designating, at the space management module, a range ofaddresses in a memory for the space; and initializing, at a certificatemanager, a certificate store in the memory of the device, thecertificate store associated with the designation of the class.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, at the spacemanagement module, an inter-process message to the certificate managerto indicate that the certificate store is to be initialized for thespace.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the certificate store comprisesmemory designated for maintaining certificates related to execution ofan application configured for world wide web browsing.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the certificate store comprises memory designated formaintaining certificates related to execution of an applicationconfigured for wireless communication.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinthe certificate store comprises memory designated for maintainingcertificates related to execution of an application configured forfacilitating communication on a virtual private network.
 6. A mobilecommunication device comprising: a memory; a processor adapted to:receive a command to create a space, the space associated with adesignation of a class identifying a mode of operation of the mobilecommunication device; designate a range of addresses in the memory forthe space; and initialize a certificate store in the memory, thecertificate store associated with the designation of the class.
 7. Acomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructionsthat, when performed by a processor in a mobile communication device,cause said processor to: receive a command to create a space, the spaceassociated with a designation of a class identifying a mode of operationof the mobile communication device; designate a range of addresses in amemory for the space; and initialize a certificate store in the memory,the certificate store associated with the designation of the class.
 8. Amethod of managing space in a memory of a device, the method comprising:receiving, at a space management module, a command to delete a givenmemory space among a plurality of memory spaces, the given memory spaceassociated with a designation of a class identifying a mode of operationof the device; and deleting, at the space management module, applicationcode associated with the designation of the class.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 further comprising deleting, at a certificate manager, acertificate store, the certificate store associated with the designationof the class.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising transmitting,at the space management module, an inter-process message to thecertificate manager to indicate that the certificate store is to bedeleted.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein the certificate storecomprises memory designated for maintaining certificates related toexecution of an application configured for world wide web browsing. 12.The method of claim 9 wherein the certificate store comprises memorydesignated for maintaining certificates related to execution of anapplication configured for wireless communication.
 13. The method ofclaim 9 wherein the certificate store comprises memory designated formaintaining certificates related to execution of an applicationconfigured for facilitating communication on a virtual private network.14. A mobile communication device comprising: a memory; a processoradapted to: receive a command to delete a given memory space among aplurality of memory spaces, the given memory space associated with adesignation of a class identifying a mode of operation of the device;and delete application code associated with the designation of theclass.
 15. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when performed by a processor in a mobilecommunication device, cause said processor to: receive a command todelete a given memory space among a plurality of memory spaces, thegiven memory space associated with a designation of a class identifyinga mode of operation of the device; and delete application codeassociated with the designation of the class.
 16. A method of handlingcertificate validation, the method comprising: receiving a certificatevalidation command, the certificate validation command specifying acertificate and a certificate store with a designation of a classidentifying a mode of operation of the device; building a certificatechain for the certificate; attempting to validate the certificate chainto a root certification authority certificate in the certificate store;and replying to a source of the certificate validation command with anindication of validation status.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein theclass identifies a personal mode of operation of the device.
 18. Themethod of claim 16 wherein the class identifies a corporate mode ofoperation of the device.
 19. The method of claim 16 wherein thecertificate validation command specifies a plurality of certificatestores associated with the class and the attempting to validate thecertificate chain performed for each of the certificate stores in theplurality of certificate stores.
 20. A mobile communication devicecomprising: a processor adapted to: receive a certificate validationrequest, the certificate validation request specifying a certificatestore with a designation of a class identifying a mode of operation ofthe device; build a certificate chain for the certificate; attempt tovalidate the certificate chain to a root certification authoritycertificate in the certificate store; and reply to a source of thecertificate validation command with an indication of validation status.21. A computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when performed by a processor in a mobilecommunication device, cause said processor to: receive a certificatevalidation request, the certificate validation request specifying acertificate store with a designation of a class identifying a mode ofoperation of the device; build a certificate chain for the certificate;attempt to validate the certificate chain to a root certificationauthority certificate in the certificate store; and reply to a source ofthe certificate validation command with an indication of validationstatus.
 22. A method of creating a certificate store in a memory of adevice, the method comprising: receiving a command to create acertificate store, the command indicating a designation of a classidentifying a mode of operation of the device; and initializing acertificate store in the memory of the device, the certificate storeassociated with the designation of the class.
 23. The method of claim 22wherein the certificate store comprises memory designated formaintaining certificates related to execution of an applicationconfigured for world wide web browsing.
 24. The method of claim 22wherein the certificate store comprises memory designated formaintaining certificates related to execution of an applicationconfigured for wireless communication.
 25. The method of claim 22wherein the certificate store comprises memory designated formaintaining certificates related to execution of an applicationconfigured for facilitating communication on a virtual private network.26. A mobile communication device comprising: a memory; a processoradapted to: receive a command to create a certificate store, the commandindicating a designation of a class identifying a mode of operation ofthe mobile communication device; and initialize a certificate store inthe memory of the device, the certificate store associated with thedesignation of the class.
 27. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions that, when performed by a processor ina mobile communication device, cause said processor to: receive acommand to create a certificate store, the command indicating adesignation of a class identifying a mode of operation of the mobilecommunication device; and initialize a certificate store in the memoryof the device, the certificate store associated with the designation ofthe class.